The Shortest Way Home
A Novel
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3.4 • 284 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Named a Best Book of 2018 by Real Simple and Redbook
"Delightful... effervescent, heady and intoxicating." -Elin Hilderbrand
How far would you got to find the place you belong?
Hannah is finally about to have everything she ever wanted. With a high-paying job, a Manhattan apartment, and a boyfriend about to propose, all she and Ethan have to do is make it through the last couple of weeks of grad school.
But when, on a romantic weekend trip to Sonoma, Hannah is spontaneously offered a marketing job at a family-run winery and doesn't immediately refuse, the couple's meticulously planned forever threatens to come crashing down. And then Hannah impulsively does the unthinkable - she takes a leap of faith.
Abandoning your dream job and life shouldn't feel this good. But this new reality certainly seems like a dream come true--a picturesque cottage overlooking a vineyard; new friends with their own inspiring plans; and William, the handsome son of the winery owners who captures Hannah's heart only to leave for the very city she let go.
Soon, the mission to rescue the failing winery becomes a mission to rescue Hannah from the life she thought she wanted. Crackling with humor and heart, The Shortest Way Home is the journey of one woman shedding expectations in order to claim her own happy ending.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Fix yourself a nice cheese plate and follow Hannah Greene, a 30-year-old grad student with her entire future mapped out. But then Hannah walks into a picture-perfect Sonoma winery—and abandons all her well-laid plans on an impulse. What follows is a crash course in family, relationships, and putting yourself first. Miriam Parker's debut novel is as light and summery as a glass of Prosecco, but be warned; it may result in a sudden urge to dramatically change course and follow your dreams.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Parker's rewarding debut concerns 30-year-old Hannah Greene's decision to quit the plum finance job she had lined up after business school in order to stay in Sonoma and work at a winery where she feels at home. Hannah and Ethan Katz, her boyfriend of two years, are about to graduate with business degrees from Haas School and move back to New York together when they come across Bellosguardo, an old winery, where Hannah immediately clicks with the owners' son, William. Impulsive Hannah decides to offer her marketing skills to William's mother, Linda, in order to turn around the winery's fortunes. William is about to move to New York himself in order to pursue his dream of making movies, but he acknowledges the spark he feels with Hannah. Parker's characters have all experienced the burden of balancing what they want with expectations: Linda's marriage with William's dad, Everett, turns out to have been one of convenience. Linda's heart is still with her high school boyfriend, Jackson, a musician who reappears in Linda's life now and again. Linda considers leaving Everett when he has a heart attack, which brings William back to Sonoma and leaves Hannah poring over which man she belongs with. Parker's story becomes less about being happy with a particular guy than about finding happiness by following one's heart. The refreshing ending is the perfect capper to this accomplished debut.
Customer Reviews
Cute but find something else
Kind of charming but cringe and awkwardly worded in some areas. No major character development
Okay read
Definitely not a work of art. Okay for a quick read and to put a couple of smiles on your face, but I wouldn’t call it good writing.
The Shortest Way Home
Find a comfy chair, open the wine, then open this book. Lose yourself in winery fields and dreams of discovery.